Not Much of a Crazy Quilter

Posted on October 23, 2015 by ruthlane under hand stitching

I have had this UFO lying around for several years now. The quilt itself was made by one of the members of our surface design group 2-3 years ago. She was teaching us a new hand stitch each session and we were supposed to decorate the crazy quilt with that stitch. However, she quit our group and I never did anything further with it.

So I decided I needed to finish it and then I can make it into a pillow.

The light blue on this section is stem stitch. I don’t really need any more practice on this stitch as I use it frequently.

This is Pekinese stitch around this triangle. Essentially a back stitch with further wrapping with another thread.

This is Palestrina stitch on the blue triangle. It helps if you draw a line to keep it straight. I got a little wobbly in the middle section. I keep forgetting how to do this stitch and have to look it up each time to make sure I get it right. It’s not that hard but…

This one is Cretan stitch along the dark green.

And this is the one I started with and it looks the most like crazy quilting is supposed to look like. Somehow, I can’t seem to keep up the fanciness of it all. This is a combination of Blanket/Buttonhole stitch, combined with Detached Chain and French Knots. But I am slowly making progress. I think I will try some other stitches that I don’t normally do so I can get a bit more practice. The thread I am using is all wool which I dyed naturally with indigo and a few other natural dyes which I have completely forgotten what they are. So hopefully, I will finish this soon and start on a hand stitch project that I like to do. Hope you have a nice weekend and thanks for dropping by.

Second Nuno Felted Paper Fabric Lamination Sample

Posted on September 13, 2015 by ruthlane under hand stitching

I started working on the next sample of the nuno felted paper fabric lamination piece. I had decided to couch some small sticks down to the surface. So I collected a bunch of interesting tamarack sticks on my walks in the morning. They are quite bumpy and textured.

So here are the ones that I have currently couched down. I used one that is nearly covered in lichens too. But I’m not very happy with the result.

I was originally planning on adding a lot more on the left side but didn’t like that either. So now I am playing around with different layouts.

I think part of the problem is that the sticks on the right are very dark and the rest of my sticks are lighter. But the overall problem is that the sticks are too textured. With all the texture in the background plus the texture on the sticks it seems too overwhelming. I can see this much better since I took a photo of it. I will probably take the sticks off and start again with smooth sticks and see if I like that better. What is your opinion?

Couching Completed?

Posted on August 30, 2015 by ruthlane under hand stitching

I think it’s finished. I added in some reddish brown yarn as well as the green.

I will hang it up on the wall and leave it for a while to see if I think it needs anything more.

Here’s a closer look at the stitching.

And this is what it looks like with light behind it. Because of the sheer silk it almost glows when it is back lit. Ignore the rest of this post is you don’t care anything about college football 🙂

Football season has started here and we go to see all the University of Montana home football games. We beat the #1 ranked team yesterday (we were ranked #13). We have a new coach and it looks like instead of a “building year” we might be having a really good season! Go Griz! #Stitt Happens!

Couching Update

Posted on August 14, 2015 by ruthlane under hand stitching

I have been gradually adding more couching to my nuno felted paper fabric laminated piece. (That’s a mouthful.)

On the left is where I was last week. On the right is how far I have gotten.

Here’s a close up of the texture and the couching. Still have lots more to go. Hope you have a nice weekend and thanks for stopping by!

Couching Begun

Posted on August 8, 2015 by ruthlane under fibers, hand stitching

I got started couching various bits of yarn down to the nuno felted paper laminated silk piece.

The photo above shows the entire sample which I am in the midst of stitching. I have a lot more couching to go.

Here’s a little closer view. I am using up scraps of yarn that I have in a variety of green shades and a few reddish-brown ones too. I think this one might take a while.

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